Cranfield University

Overview

An investment in advancing your career is a life-changing decision. By joining Cranfield University’s global reputation, you will be taking your first steps to building strong relationships with some of the world’s most prestigious companies in industry.

As an exclusively postgraduate university, we are focused on the specialist themes of aerospace, defence and security, energy and power, environment and agrifood, manufacturing, transport systems, and water. Cranfield School of Management is a world leader in management education and research.

What makes Cranfield unique?

• Cranfield is a six-time winner of the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize, the only national honour given to educational institutions for work carried out in the public interest.
• We are home to many world-class, large-scale facilities which enhance our teaching and research. We are one of the few universities in the world to have its own airport – our global research airport offers a unique environment for transformational research.
• Our living laboratory is a testbed for transformative technologies and new approaches to deliver enhanced social, economic and environmental outcomes in urban, transport and infrastructure systems. We work closely with business, industry, and governments around the world. Through our industry partnerships, applied research projects and our executive education and professional development programmes, we currently work with over 1,500 companies
  and organisations.
• The Research Excellence Framework, 2014, classed 81% of our research as world-leading or internationally excellent.
• We have the largest number of postgraduate engineering students in the UK.
• Our staff-to-student ratio is one of the best for any university in the UK (one member of academic staff to every five students).
• We formed in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics, the first postgraduate college of its kind. The School of Management was founded in 1967.

Services for International Students

Cranfield teaches over 5,000 postgraduate students each year and employs around 1,500 academic and support staff.  Cranfield support staff can offer advice on visas and finance to international students, while the university also runs a pre-sessional English programme for international students.

Ranking

As a wholly postgraduate university, Cranfield University is not included in standard league tables. Cranfield School of Management is ranked Top 10 in the UK and 34th in Europe in the Financial Times European Business School Rankings 2021. The MBA is ranked 5th in the UK and 60th in the world in the Full-time MBA Ranking 2021.

Our consistent presence in world rankings and our triple accreditation put us in the elite 1% of business schools worldwide.

Accommodation

Cranfield offer both catered and self-catered on campus accommodation, from halls of residence to shared houses, apartments for couples to houses for families. The University can also help to find private accommodation in nearby towns and villages. University rooms on the Shrivenham campus are generally reserved for military students. Learn more about Cranfield accommodation.

Location

Cranfield University campus is 40 minutes away from central London by train, with the nearest towns being Milton Keynes and Bedford. London Luton airport is the closest to the University, while Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted are all easily accessible via train and coach.

Cranfield Defence and Security is around 50 mins from London by train and around 25 mins from Bristol by train. Bath, Cheltenham, Bristol, and Oxford are all within an hour’s drive and London less than two hours away by car.

Alumni

Cranfield University has over 70,000 alumni over 170 countries and are committed to providing a world-class programme of inclusive and lifelong services to alumni. Learn more here.

Notable Cranfield alumni:

Warren East, CEO of Rolls-Royce; John McFarlane, Executive Chairman of Barclays; Ombola Johnson, Minister for Communication Technology Nigeria; Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis Partnership; and Garry Copeland, Managing Director - Operations, British Airways.

Cranfield Open Days

Cranfield offer up to five Open Days a year at its main campus, providing you with the chance to attend informative theme showcase sessions, meet academic staff, talk to current students and visit world-class facilities. You will be able to enjoy a campus tour as well as visit our great range of accommodation options. The Admissions team will be on hand to guide you through the application process and you will have the opportunity to explore funding opportunities that may be available to you. Register now.

Cranfield Contact Information